The Science of Cycling

Right in time for the Tour de France (which gets underway tomorrow) the Open University has released a new video series called Science Behind the Bike. During the past two decades, science has taken cycling to new places — sometimes good, sometimes bad. The introduction of performance enhancing drugs nearly damaged the sport beyond repair, and it certainly destroyed the careers and reputations of many leading cyclists. But all along, somewhere outside the public glare, many well-intentioned scientific minds have toiled away, trying to find legitimate ways to advance the sport. Physiologists, physicists, engineers, software designers, techies from Formula 1 racing — they’ve all brought a new perspective to cycling.

I never bike anymore! Not since my bike was stolen when I was 15 or 16. Maybe I should start again? I feel so left out of this pervasive bike culture. I just don’t want to be like these people, you know who they are, there’s a lot of them in Vancouver:

Gordon Katic (@gordonkatic) has been student coordinator for the Terry Project for over two years, and in that time started BARtalk, and the Terry Project on CiTR 101.9FM. A former Ubyssey columnist, and now a student at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism, Gordon is trying to use journalism to tell important stories about global issues.

Gordon Katic (@gordonkatic) has been student coordinator for the Terry Project for over two years, and in that time started BARtalk, and the Terry Project on CiTR 101.9FM. A former Ubyssey columnist, and now a student at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism, Gordon is trying to use journalism to tell important stories about global issues.